Wolf-blood

Live.

Flashback (Lenus's Past)

I went back to school that Monday. I was actually excited. Now I know, I know, what weirdo enjoys going to school? Well, I may not have enjoyed the whole "learning" thing, but I did love the feeling of being normal, of having friends and not having to worry about being special. 

But, as everything else in my life, this didn't go quite to plan. 

I got up at the same time, I made the same breakfast, and I answered Richard's crosswords all as normal. I smiled as I made my way to the bus and hopped inside. I started back towards my usual seat next to James, looking at the ground. I used to do this because I didn't want to meet anyone's "higher-than-thou" stares. Now I do it because I don't want to see any "WHAT THE ACTUAL CRAP?!" stares. There is a difference. 

When I got to the seat, I looked over at Teller. Definitely a WTF?! stare. But, that quickly turned to an angry one. 

Not exactly what I had envisioned...

"What the hell, Carter?" he whisper-yelled. My look must have showed something to him, because he continued in an explaining way. "What happened to you? I know you didn't really run away; you're not the brightest bulb, but you aren't dim. I know you better than that. But Margarette? She thought that you ran away because of something we did. She's been beating herself up over you, ranting about how it's all her fault. And Cigs? He just stopped talking. You know how hard it was to get him to talk to us before we became his friends," Cigs had a speaking disability, "and now you go and make it worse. So what the fuck was so important that you had the right to ruin everyone's lives?"

I put my head in my hands. What was I supposed to tell him? Oh, you see, it's a funny story, really. I shifted into a giant flipping wolf and camped out in the woods for a few days. So how's school? Right, because that would go over well. "I..." I started but couldn't finish. I felt tears well up but held them back. I wasn't going to cry in front of Teller, I wasn't, I wasn't, I wasn't. For once, couldn't I be normal?

The bus arrived at school, saving me from having to finish my sentence. I quickly got off of the bus and walked towards the front doors of school. "Carter!?" I heard a female voice call out before I was pulled into a giant hug from Snowy. 

"Hey, Snow Plow."

She pulled back from me then and smacked my arm. "Where have you been?! Do you know how much we worried about you?! 'Where could Carter be?' 'Did he mention anything to you about leaving?' 'What do you think he is doing right now?'" She punched my arm on each of the words in the last question. "That was all I could think about! What did you think would happen?"

"I..." I cleared my throat and thought about all that I had put them through. It seemed like anyone close to me got hurt or despised me in the end. Or both. "I didn't," I said, then walked around her, towards the front door. I passed Cigs and nodded at him, a gesture he didn't return to me.

I shook my head and heard the bell ring, signalling my escape. I quickly walked inside and went to my homeroom, pausing only to get my books for first hour. I felt all eyes on me, everywhere I went. The boy who ran away, the homeless kid, that weirdo who had a growth spurt, the juicer who must've left to get some more. I heard all of the taunts. I clenched my jaw and tried my best to ignore them as I made my way to my homeroom. 

So much for being normal.

Lunch was even worse. I sat at my usual table, the one I usually shared with Snowy, Cigs, and Teller. But, it seemed that just to punish me for something I couldn't control, they decided to sit at another table. Everyone around me left at least two seats next to me on either side. I guessed I was eating alone again.